| 1900 | Max McGraw establishes McGraw Electric Company, Sioux City, Iowa. |
| 1903 | McGraw Electric reorganized into Interstate Supply Company. |
| 1907 | Max McGraw establishes Interstate Electric Manufacturing Company. |
| 1910 | Interstate Electric and Manufacturing Company formed. It combined Interstate Supply and Interstate Manufacturing into one company. |
| 1912 | Joseph R. Lehmer Company acquired by Interstate Electric and Manufacturing Company. The two companies are combined into a new McGraw Electric Company. McGraw Electric Company established a utility, Central Electric and Gas Company in South Dakota, which, in turn, established a subsidiary, Central Telephone. |
| 1919 | Charles Strite applies for a patent for the first automatic pop-up toaster, which was intended to be sold to the restaurant trade. |
| 1921 | Waters Genter Company is formed to manufacture Strite's toaster and market it to restaurants. |
| 1926 | The Waters Genter Company begins selling the Toastmaster model 1-A-1, the first automatic pop-up toaster made for home use. McGraw Electric acquired the Bersted Manufacturing Company, Chicago; the wholesale operation of McGraw Electric sold to Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company. |
| 1928 | McGraw Electric acquired the Clark Water Heater Company, and the Bussmann Company (fuses). |
| 1929 | McGraw Electric acquired Waters Genter Company, Minneapolis (Toastmaster) from Max McGraw who had bought it personally in 1926. |
| 1930 | McGraw Electric sold Bersted Manufacturing Company back to Alfred Bersted. |
| 1936 | Toastmaster toasters incorporate a pneumatic shock absorber for the bread carriage making for a smoother, quieter toasting operation. |
| 1939 | Hinged crumb trays are introduced on the new line of Toastmaster toasters. |
| 1939 | McGraw Electric acquired the "Focolipse" heater from Pitt Corporation. |
| 1944 | McGraw Electric's plant in Elgin, Illinois becomes a war plant, suspending production of its popular appliances for three years in order to manufacture projectiles including ammunition for the famous aircraft gun known as the "Chicago Piano." |
| 1947 | Model 1B14 is introduced. The toaster remained a staple in the Toastmaster line until 1961, winning the title of the world's most popular toaster for more than a decade. |
| 1948 | McGraw Electric re-purchased the Bersted Manufacturing Company from Al Bersted. Bersted, meanwhile, had acquired United Electrical Manufacturing Company, Adrian, Michigan, ("Eskimo" fans); Swartzbaugh Manufacturing Company, Toledo, ("Everhot" appliances); and Manning-Bowman & Company, Meriden, Connecticut (appliances); acquired the "Tip-Toe" iron from Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company; acquired Edison of Canada Limited. |
| 1949 | McGraw Electric acquired Line Material Company, Canada (power line equipment). |
| 1950 | The Toastmaster "Powermatic" self-lowering toaster is introduced (model 1B16). Its improved "Superflex" time compensated for voltage surges. |
| 1951 | McGraw Electric acquired Tropic-Aire Incorporated (bus air conditioning). |
| 1952 | McGraw Electric Pan American Corporation established to engage in operations in Western Hemisphere. |
| 1953 | McGraw Electric Company moves its manufacturing facilities to Missouri. |
| 1954 | McGraw Electric acquired the appliance business of General Mills. |
| 1956 | Toastmaster responds to early signs of "countertop crunch" with the debut of the most popular compact toaster yet. Although the 1B21 weighed four pounds versus the 6-lb. market standard, it toasted any size bread. |
| 1956 | W. E. Moore & Company (industrial dryers), Speed Queen Corporation (home laundry equipment manufacturer), Lectromelt Furnace Corporation acquired. |
| 1957 | McGraw Electric Company acquires Thomas A. Edison Industries. Ingraham Time Products, founded in 1918, is part of the deal. Corporate name changed to McGraw-Edison Company. An era of significant expansion begins. Of acquisitions, Founder/President Max McGraw was fond of saying: "Never buy a company unless it's making money or seems about to go broke." Acquired Griswold Manufacturing Company, part of which it sold to Acquired Vermont Division of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation (portable electric tools). Acquired Sancor Instrument Corporation, Neptune, New Jersey (precision gears). Acquired All-Over Manufacturing Company, Racine (hair clippers for home use). |
| 1958 | McGraw-Edison acquired Heatube Company (heating elements) and National Electric Coil Company. Sold Griswold to Wagner. |
| 1959 | Merged Canadian Line Materials Limited and Thomas A. Edison (Canada) into McGraw-Edison (Canada) Limited. |
| 1960 | McGraw-Edison acquired American Laundry Machinery Company (commercial laundry equipment). |
| 1961 | McGraw-Edison acquired Canadian Laundry Machinery Company Limited and Huebsch Canada Limited, and merged them into McGraw-Edison (Canada) Limited. |
| 1962 | McGraw-Edison acquired certain product lines from Federal Pacific Electric Company (utility equipment) and W. F. Meyer & Son. |
| 1963 | McGraw-Edison acquired the Daven Division of General Mills Incorporated (electric components). |
| 1965 | McGraw-Edison established Prestige Edison Limited, a joint venture with Prestige Limited, subsidiary of Ekco Products Company, England. Acquired Village Blacksmith Company, Watertown, Wisconsin (garden goods). Liquidated Thomas A. Edison (United Kingdom), and Pohatcong R.R. Also sold Medical Gas Division of Thomas A. Edison Company, Wood Products Division and Elgin Real Estate. Formed joint venture between Line Materials Industries Division and Secode Corporation, subsidiary of Magnetic Controls Company to produce electric utility control equipment. |
| 1966 | The world's best selling electric waffle iron, model W252, debuts. It remained in the Toastmaster product line until 1997. |
| 1967 | McGraw-Edison acquired Halo Lighting Incorporated (lighting fixtures). Sold the Lectromelt Furnace Division. Acquired Ingraham Company (clocks). |
| 1968 | McGraw-Edison acquired Toledo Kitchen Machines Division of Reliance Electric and Engineering Company. |
| 1969 | McGraw-Edison acquired the fibre pipe business of the Brown Company. Acquired Simplicity Products Limited (Canada) (home laundry appliances) and General Electric's power tool business. |
| 1970 | McGraw-Edison acquired Fairgrieve & Son Limited (Canada) (home laundry appliances) and some appliance lines from Landers, Frary & Clark (Canada). |
| 1971 | Painted and woodgrain appliances become increasingly popular. Decorative toasters join other fashion oriented products for the home. While chrome remained the most popular finish, some models were available with decorated front panels. You could also get toasters in harvest gold and avocado! Acquired Comar Electric Company (relays and switches). |
| 1972 | McGraw-Edison acquired Brevel Products Corporation (small electric motors) and the power tool line of G. W. Murphy Company, Houston, Texas. |
| 1976 | The Toastmaster Bicentennial toaster hits the retail shelves. |
| 1978 | The first model B700 two-slice toaster - destined to become America's most popular toaster - rolls off the assembly line. |
| 1980 | Seven executives form Toastmaster Incorporated following a leveraged buy-out of the Portable Appliance and Tool Group division from McGraw-Edison. The company is later purchased by Magic Chef, Inc., which is subsequently acquired by the Maytag Company. Welcome to the eighties! |
| 1985 | First under-cabinet toaster is introduced. |
| 1987 | A second leveraged buy-out by management acquires Toastmaster from the Maytag Company. |
| 1989 | The 16 millionth B700 series toaster is manufactured. |
| 1990 | The first cool touch, steel-sided toaster, appropriately named the Toastmaster "Cool Steel," is introduced. |
| 1992 | Toastmaster becomes a publicly held corporation following an offering of its common stock on March 3. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange as TM. |
| 1996 | The Toastmaster "Bagel Perfect" toaster targets a dramatic surge in bagel consumption. |
| 1998 | Toastmaster displayed three new appliances, including a toaster, designed in Germany by F. A. Porsche (an industrial design firm started in the 1970s by Ferdinand Porsche, designer of the original Porsche 911 sports car) at the January Housewares Show in Chicago. |
| 1999 | Salton Inc. acquires Toastmaster, Inc. |
